Video Update!

We're only five days away from the end of the campaign! While we've already hit our initial goal, there are some exciting things we can do if you can help us go even further. As we mentioned in an earlier update, when we hit $350k, we'll offer a second body color and the wooden pick guard option. We also have a really cool step-sequencer/sampler/drum machine app that our man Ilan is working on and if we make it to $400k, we'll make that available by release time.

Now for the exciting stuff. We wanted to address a few questions that have been popping up in the comments as well as give you a more straightforward demo of the gTar app and how it sounds. So check out this video and if you want to see new gTar colors and pick guards, please take a second to share the Kickstarter page with your friends!

(if you're watching the video and looking for an electric guitar sound, fast forward to the very end)

Thanks, that answers my questions. Sounds good about the score tracking.

What I was thinking, as far as Krishna's idea goes, is that you could have another difficulty mode. In this difficulty mode, the guitar would light up the current note and keep moving onto the next note, whether you hit the current note or not. I wouldn't really care too much about the guitar telling me what note is coming up next, because in my mind, in order for you to consider this mode, you'd have played the song for a while and probably already know most the notes. I'm imagining something somewhat like Rock Band/Guitar Hero here. I'm not sure if he was thinking the same thing, but I'd like to see something like this.

@Dylan - There's a 1/4" line-out where you can plug your headphones in directly and we'll be providing a headphones adapter so it can fit normal-sized headphone plugs. The gTar is powered by a battery and the iPhone has it's own internal battery, so you shouldn't need anything external for that. Hammer-ons, slides, and pull-offs work as they normally would (I don't know if that answers your question or not). The gTar does track your mistakes and creates a score and star rating after every song so you can keep track of your progress - it doesn't explicitly say "you screwed up this many times" though.

@Krishna - We've played around with it running the lights with the tempo of the song, but our general take on that setup is that it's not very fun since you don't have a very predictable way of anticipating notes. We can reintroduce this ability later if users are interested, but we think once you start playing around, you'll understand what we mean. We are able to use the LEDs to indicate tempo though, and while we're still figuring out the best way for this to work from the user-side, it's an alternative to help you pick up the rhythm.

After watching the video again, I had 2 more questions. Will we be able to plug headphones directly into the gTar, or will we need something externally powered? Also, how do hammer ons and pull offs work? Krishna brings up a good point, will there be a mode that straight up plays the song, and you have to try and keep up? Also, will the app keep track of and tell you how many times you screwed up?

Alright, great. I was thinking that I wanted to get something that would be able to withhold some abuse. I'll probably just end up going to a local guitar shop and seeing what they have when I get my gTar. I'm in the Air Force, so while I take care of my stuff, I can't guarantee my stuff will be taken care of while other people are moving it, so I'd like to buy a travel case that they could beat up pretty good without breaking my gTar.

@Rob - the LEDs on the fretboard show you what chords to play. If you're looking to identify the chords by name as you're playing them (e.g. to be told "you're playing a G chord" as the finger position illuminates), we don't offer that functionality in this version.

@Melody - the SmartPick is a conductive pick that we're shipping with the gTar. It's not required to play, but it offers a different feel/sensitivity some people may find preferable.

@Charlie - thanks!

@Misty - the sounds for those song demos is one of our acoustic, but there will be others in the app. We'll continue to add more sounds post-release as well!

@Dylan - we're shipping the gTar with a padded gig bag with backpack straps, so for lots of casual travel, we find that to work pretty well. If you want something more durable, we don't have any particular brands to recommend - we bought some of ours used from a local music shop and it's as burly as they come. Hope that helps!

Great demo! Can't wait to get my order, I've tried on and off to teach myself to play the guitar but haven't found a method ( books, dvd, etc) that kept me interested, looks like the gTar may be the one!